Easy Cheesy Hamburger Skillet: Ready in 30 Minutes

Work, work, work. Come home. Chores, chores, chores, take care of the kiddos, take care of the significant other, more chores.

“Mom/Dad, I’m starving. When’s dinner?” The absolute last thing you want to do is cook.

You start reaching for your phone to order in a pizza. But you’ve got that pound of hamburger meat sitting in the fridge that needs to be used up (from when you where on the “I’m going to make everything from scratch” kick over the weekend).

The solution? Easy peezy. Brown some hamburger in a skillet, throw in some onions, pasta, cheddar cheese, cream cheese, and a can of diced tomatoes, and voila! You are the next Gordon Ramsey. All in 30 minutes.

Name it something that sounds delicious, like, I dunno, an Easy Cheesy Hamburger Skillet. Tell no one that you were just throwing in the ingredients based on what was in the icebox and pantry. Let them believe you are a cooking genius.

Step 1 – Prep the Onions and Measure Ingredients

Step 2 – Establish Your Mise en Place

Lay out all of your ingredients so that you can easily get to them.

Step 3 – Boil the Pasta

This stockpot is an interesting new brand that we’re in the process of testing. It’s made in the USA by Made-In, a small company headquartered in Austin, Texas with manufacturing facilities and partners within other parts of the USA.

I typically like to use a lean cut of burger meat, but not extra lean. If it is too lean, you’ll actually have to add extra oil to the pan to fight sticking.

Add the onions and fry over medium heat until they are translucent. Drain any excess oil.

Step 5 – Build the Sauce

Add the spices and then add the cream cheese and cheddar. Add the flour, tomato sauce, and milk, and stir well.

Once the flour is well incorporated and the sauce is well mixed, add the can of diced tomatoes.

Step 6 – Build the Sauce

Stir in the cooked macaroni and voila! Dinner is served.

This big pan should serve up to five people, maybe six if stretched with a side salad and some bread on the side.

And all without out the preservatives, MSG, artificial colors, and other additives typically found in the premixed boxed stuff.

What about you? Do you have any tips or recipes to quickly turn a pound of hamburger into a complete meal on a weeknight? Let us know in the comments below and please give this recipe a rating down in the comments area.

*Nutritional information derived from a database of known generic and branded foods and ingredients and was not compiled by a registered dietitian or submitted for lab testing. It should be viewed as an approximation.

Mike Quinn spent 20 years in the US Army and traveled extensively all over the world. As part of his military service, Mike sampled coffee and tea from all virtually every geographic region, from the beans from the plantation of an El Salvadorian Army Colonel to "Chi" in Iraq to Turkish Coffee in the Turkish Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. He spent nearly a decade in the Republic of Korea where he was exposed to all forms of traditional teas. Mike formerly owned and operated Cup And Brew, an online espresso and coffee equipment retail operation.

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